Why the Halter is My Go-To for Aggressive Dogs

For the past eight years, the majority of my aggression cases have been trained exclusively with a halter. This doesn't mean I no longer use other tools like prong or e-collars; I still do, especially for basic obedience. However, contrary to what most people believe, I’ve found that many dogs actually find the halter more aversive than the prong collar. I’ve yet to meet a dog that took to the halter faster than to the prong.

That said, I use the halter for specific reasons, which I’ll outline below.

First, when dealing with reactivity, our top priority is to break the dog’s stare and redirect their focus to us or to a reward. In my experience, the best way to do that is by controlling the nose.

Second, the halter automatically addresses pulling and lunging. There’s a reason horse trainers use halters — if you can control a horse with one, you can certainly control a smaller animal.

Lastly, it helps control barking. With a halter, I can manually close the dog’s mouth when they start barking. It also provides an added layer of safety when working with dogs who may redirect their aggression toward their handler.

What about snub-nosed breeds? That’s where the prong collar comes in.

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I provide training in Queens and Long Island for Leash-aggressive dogs.

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